South-South cooperation is a manifestation of solidarity among peoples and countries of the South that contributes to their national well-being, their national and collective self-reliance and the attainment of internationally agreed development goals, including the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The International Day for South-South Cooperation celebrated on 12th September, focuses on the theme ‘Solidarity, Equity and Partnership: Unlocking South-South Cooperation to Achieve the SDGs’ for this year.  Collaboration across borders and boundaries is essential for countries to find effective solutions to the current development challenges, especially when challenges we are trying to address, such as climate change, has no boundaries. 

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Sri Lanka, China and Ethiopia is implementing a project with the Governments of Sri Lanka, China and Ethiopia, that aims to transition the Agro-Industry towards using sustainable energy under a South-South Cooperation known as the TSSC project. The project addresses sustainable development challenges related to international cooperation, access to energy for improved service delivery, and sustainable integrated farming practices while supporting Sri Lanka to reach its Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emission reduction targets by 2030.  Along with many other countries, Sri Lanka has made commitments to the Paris Agreement. Despite its low carbon footprint and highly vulnerable status, Sri Lanka has committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 14.5%. The island state also established 2030 targets to achieve 70% renewable energy in electricity generation. Sri Lanka expects to achieve Carbon Neutrality by 2050 and has committed to not increasing the capacity of its coal power plants.